Naruto: Destiny of a Ninja
by sf8
Summary: A retelling of Naruto with a varied storyline.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Naruto Uzumaki

"Naruto... Why are you doing this...?" "Because you're my friend."

1 year earlier...

"YES!", Naruto yelled as he hugged Iruka after finally receiving his headband. Though this meant he no longer had to take the Genin Exam. As a result, his Jutsu were a bit shaky but he had decided to work ten times harder to make sure he doesn't fall behind. "I'm proud of you, Naruto.", Iruka said with a smile, "I always believed in you."

By the next morning, Naruto's wounds were almost completely healed. This reminded him that he was by no means what was considered "normal", as within him dwelt Kurama, the Nine-tailed Fox. However, his sadness was soon lifted as he saw the sun reflect off of his brand new Leaf headband. He smiled, strapped on his gear and ran outside to be assigned to a squad.

As he entered the Hokage's room, he was greeted by Shikamaru. Lord Hokage was sitting at his desk doing paperwork. Shikamaru took one look at Naruto's headband and said "Naruto.. Don't tell me you're a Genin..." Shikamaru looked at the ground and sighed with his hands in his pockets, "Ugh.. What a drag." Naruto heartily stated, "Hell yeah I am! I'm gonna be Hokage one day! Is that a problem with you, drag queen?" By this point Naruto and Shikamaru were butting heads, and Lord Hokage stood up and slammed on his desk. "Enough! Naruto, what do you need?""I'm here to be assigned to a squad!", Naruto proclaimed, pointing at his headband. "Naruto... I don't know how to say this... We had exactly enough people for four squads. I'm sorry, you will have to wait until we get more graduates next year." Naruto's heart sank. How was he going to become Hokage if he had no completed missions on his resume? Suddenly an idea struck him. (I don't need anyone...), he thought. (All they would do is bully and ridicule me... I can become Hokage on my own!) Suddenly, without much thought, Naruto grabbed one of the papers off of Lord Hokage's desk and ran out. Shikamaru tried to stop him but was overpowered. Naruto bolted out of the building and towards the woods. "Leave him be.", Lord Hokage ordered. Shikamaru looked at Lord Hokage, "What did he take?" "Hmm... Let's see... What's missing..." Lord Hokage's eyes got wide. "Oh my God... The mission brief he took... It's an escort mission to the Land of Waves. A C-Rank... He won't make it back alive." "What should we do, Lord Hokage?" "Call Team 7. Send them East, the boat for the Land of Waves leaves a sundown. Have them intercept Naruto and bring him back, I'll assemble a squad of Anbu to finish the escort." "What a drag..."

Naruto was running through the forest with thoughts racing through his head. (What am I doing-) suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks and bounced back and onto the ground. He looked up at what he ran into. It was a man, mid-50s probably. He had a straw had and a robe on, with some sort of building materials on his back. "I'm sorry mister.." "Yeah you better be, kid.. Wait... That headband... You must be the Ninja that's going to take me home! Well, let's get going!" Naruto lit up with excitement as he and the old man traveled for the Land of Waves.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Demon Brothers

"Alright, so... My name is Kakashi. I'll be your Sensei." Kakashi smiled. Or at least it looked like it. No one in the village ever seen him without his mask. "Tell me a little about you three." Squad 7 consisted of Sasuke, the dark, silent skilled Shinobi; Sakura, the girly girl who was obsessed with Sasuke and all things pink; and Kyu, a red haired Ninja who gave Sasuke a run for his money in all aspects. Other than that he was just your average guy. Born and raised in this village, Kyu sported the typical headband and a blue flak jacket, similar to a Jonin's, that he received as a gift for passing his survival classes with the Inuzuka clan. As a result, he was a skilled hunter and had heightened senses. His blood red hair was spiked slightly in the back, and parted in the front. Think of it as a mix between Anko's and Sasuke's hair.

Sakura was busy drooling over Sasuke, who was antisocial himself, so Kyu was first to go. He stood up, oddly confident for how quiet he was in class, and said, "My name is Kyu Mazuichi. I'm 15, love the outdoors, and plan to be a part of the Anbu one day." Kakashi nodded. "Good, good." His eyes scanned his team. To avoid being called out, Sakura volunteered. "I'll go, Kakashi Sensei." She blushed as Sasuke glared at her. "Okay, um... I'm Sakura Haruno, um... Let's see... " She began to stutter. Kakashi decided to move on. "Okay Sasuke, you're up." He stood up. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. That's all you need to know." He sat back down. Kakashi scratched his head nervously. (This sure is an interesting group), he thought. "Okay, sounds good! You guys can go home. Dismissed!"As the young Genin began to leave, Shikamaru ran to them from across the road. "Wait!", he yelled. "I have a message from Lord Hokage." "What is it?" Kakashi asked. "It's Naruto. He's ran off with a highly targeted client. I'll explain the rest on the way."

As the five of them ran through the woods, Shikamaru stressed how important this task was. "This client, Tazuna, has survived dozens of assassination attempts. There are rumors of bounty hunters chasing him now. We're afraid that they've crossed the border." Sakura is obviously scared. "Kakashi Sensei... We won't run into them, right?" "Let's hope not." Kakashi knew that the Land of Waves had some fearsome bounty hunters, but for the sake of his team he had to remain calm. Kakashi noticed a trail of blood, so did Shikamaru. "Wait guys," Shikamaru said. Kakashi cringed as he anticipated Sakura's response to seeing the blood. She seemed shaken but didn't speak. Shikamaru continued, "We need to follow it, there are signs of some sort of struggle, the trees are all cut up and the ground is covered in blood. This obviously wasn't a fair fight." Shikamaru continued to assess the damage done as Kyu said, "Is it safe for us to be here? Couldn't Lord Hokage send better trained Shinobi?" Kakashi nodded. "I agree with you Kyu, but all we have to do is find Naruto and bring him back. Though the Anbu should have him in custody at the eastern port by now." Shikamaru looked at his compass. "Of course, the trail leads east... What a drag..." They reluctantly continued onward.

After some time, they came to a sight that made the four young Genin sick to their stomach (excluding Sasuke, who kept his typical blank expression). The trail had led them to a pile of bloody bodies, dressed in Anbu gear. Their masks were gone, it was obvious someone took them for proof of their kill, like dogtags. Kakashi bowed his head in respect and Shikamaru went to recover Sakura, who was hyperventilating behind a tree. This was no longer a simple recovery mission. Suddenly Kyu snapped back to reality and yelled "Get down!", and everyone dropped prone as an oddly shaped spiked chain swung over their heads. They surely would've died, were it not for Kyu's animal-like instincts. As they quickly jumped into a battle stance, a cloaked figure approached from their front and back, the one to their rear grabbed Sakura and held a knife to her throat. "Move and the bitch dies.", he said through his mask. They all froze. Kakashi had heard of these two before, "The Demon Brothers Gozu and Meizu...", he said. "Ah, so we're famous in Konoha as well?", the one in front said as he stared them down. It's a shame I have to eliminate one of my fans.", he said as he stepped forward to strike them down.

Meanwhile...

"I can't take anymore of your stories you boring old man!", Naruto said as he cupped his hands over his ears. Tazuna laughed. "Haha! What kind of Shinobi can't take a few history lessons from an old man?" It was night by now and Naruto was growing weary, not to mention bored. "So how much longer until we get to the port?", Naruto asked. "Hmm.. Maybe three hours walking time." "What!? That's crazy, screw this! I need to see some action!" Naruto, being the knucklehead ninja he is, yelled a little too loud as The Demon Brothers began approaching them with Squad 7 and Shikamaru tied up behind them. "You fucking idiot.. We got you now.", Meizu said. "We could hear you yelling from a mile away. You all will be worth a fortune if we can keep you alive long enough to give to our boss." These assassins were obviously planning a public execution of sorts, which apparently pays well. Naruto saw Sakura tied up and lost it. He rushed full force at Meizu, but was knocked back in an instant. "Stop that you idiot!", Kakashi scolded. Gozu laughed. "Should we just kill this little punk, brother?" "I think we shall.", the other brother said as he raised his knife up to swing at Naruto. He closed his eyes and raised his hands to block, but the attack never happened. He looked up. Tazuna had moved in the way. The knife had went through the right part of his stomach. "But... Why?", Naruto managed to stutter out. "To make time, now go!" Naruto knew what he had to do. Though he was overcome by fear, he leapt over Tazuna and kicked Meizu in the face, knocking him backwards. Naruto then ran up to Kakashi and cut him free with his kunai, though by this time Gozu had approached him and punched Naruto in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious. With precision, Kakashi threw a Kunai at Sasuke's ropes and he began to free the others. "Kill them all, brother! Leave no survivors!", yelled Meizu as he kicked the lifeless body of Tazuna. By now everyone was freed and ready for anything. The two brothers both went after Kakashi first, to take out the strongest. Kakashi seemed to be struck but used a substitution Jutsu, reappearing above Meizu, stabbing him in the shoulder. Sasuke and Kyu both rushed Gozu at the same time, but he seemed to be unaffected. Sasuke jumped backwards into the air and used Fire Ball Jutsu, scorching Gozu half to death. Meizu had survived Kakashi's attack and the two were in a heated battle, exchanging blows. Shikamaru caught him in a Shadow Possession Jutsu to hold him still while Kakashi tied him up with his own ropes. He then did the same with the other brother and they were both captured.

"Good work, guys.", Kakashi congratulated them all, though gave Naruto an angry glare as he woke, and so did everyone else. Kakashi summoned Pakkun, his loyal ninja dog, to escort Shikamaru back to the village with the assassins to be prosecuted. "Shikamaru, go back to the village with Pakkun. We need to take Tazuna's body back to his family." "Fine by me, I'm out of here. Good luck", Shikamaru said as he took them into the forest back the way they came. (Why did he... Sacrifice himself for me...), Naruto thought as he shed a tear at the sight of the old man. "You idiot! This is your fault!", Sasuke yelled at him. They all were staring at Naruto in disgust with the same thought. "Go back to the village and stay where you belong!", Sakura yelled angrily. "No", Kyu said. "He needs to come with, to talk with Tazuna's family." "Kyu's right," Kakashi agreed. "Let's get moving", he said as they walked in front of Naruto with the others, carrying Tazuna's body as the Genin whispered about Naruto, not caring if he heard. Crying, he continued behind them towards the Land of Waves.


End file.
